Students vote to save single-sex college

Students at St Hilda's, Oxford's last remaining single-sex college, have voted against allowing the entrance of men as students or tutors.

57% of undergraduates voted against the change in a referendum held last Thursday, following an announcement from the college's authorities that they would be considering making the college mixed.

There has been a decline in support for the college's single-sex status since 1997, when a previous referendum indicated that 78% of students were against the college becoming mixed. On that occasion, St Hilda's Senior Common Room were only one vote short of the two-thirds majority required to approve the change.

Sources suggest that currently around two-thirds of the SCR are in favour of a mixed college, including influential figures such as the senior tutor and the tutor for admissions.

According to advocates, the pressure for change has come from difficulties the college has faced in recruiting staff, as well as financial and academic performance problems.

Presently equal opportunities legislation means that the college has to fund some of its staff entirely without assistance, which the university provides to all staff at other colleges.

St Hilda's was placed 21st out of the 30 colleges in last year's Norrington Table, an unofficial ranking of Oxford colleges' academic performance.

Senior college members have said that allowing men to study and work at St Hilda's would free up more money for the college to use on renovation projects and make the recruitment of staff much easier.

The lack of female science staff at Oxford presents a specific problem for the college: of the four female chemistry tutors at the university, for instance, two are employed by St Hilda's.

Students in favour of "going mixed" claim that the college's single-sex status is most unpopular among students who did not originally apply to the college.

School-leavers making an "open application" to Oxford are allocated a college automatically based on admissions statistics, and St Hilda's has historically attracted lower numbers of "first preferences" than other colleges. Places at the college filled by automatic allocation are therefore relatively higher than at many - but not all - other Oxford colleges.

Defenders of St Hilda's all female status have launched a "Lilac for Ladies" ribbon campaign. The campaign's leaders say that the merits of the single-sex environment are being ignored and that the financial and academic implications are being greatly exaggerated. They have already gained the backing of students at another former all women college, St Anne's.

Helena Puig Larrauri, former JCR president of St Hilda's and president-elect of Oxford University student union, said: "Women at St. Hilda's have the best of both worlds. Through the close guidance of female academics we have become confident in our position within Oxford, but we also have the whole university at our disposal.

"However, there is substantial statistical evidence that women are discriminated against in this university. A single-sex college is an effective way not just to redress the balance, but also to highlight the issue."

The student population at St Hilda's has hosted a number of heated debates on the issue over the past two weeks, which have been well attended by senior college staff and students. However, leaders of the "Lilac for Ladies" campaign are pessimistic about the SCR's regard for the views of students and the result of the referendum.

Penny Berrill, president of St Hilda's JCR, feared the views of current undergraduates were in danger of being ignored. "The students are stakeholders in the future of the college, thus the JCR's opinions must be taken incredibly seriously," she said.

St Hilda's principal, Lady English, said: "I believe the outcome shows that [students'] views are very balanced between those who support change and those who think the college should retain its single sex status.

"The views of the undergraduates and graduates will be considered by the governing body in its decision making. However, the fellows, as trustees, have to take into account many additional factors when determining the future of the college."

The college's governing body is expected to take a vote on the issue next Wednesday.

Ella Lister and Sarah Morris, both students at St Hilda's, said: "Yes, there are a higher number of men at this university, but this is a natural evolutionary process following the gradual acceptance of women into higher education across the country. [This] is not being helped by the existence of one all female college, which is in actual fact looked down on by many as being less academically prestigious, and is therefore more detrimental than helpful towards the fight for equality for women in Oxford University."